Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Wind Turbine Maker Gamesa To Close Western Pa. Plant

EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa says it will close its western Pennsylvania plant and eliminate the 62 remaining jobs. Continue...

Monday, January 27, 2014

Suit filed over wind farm plan

A St. Croix County town has filed suit to block construction of a wind farm proposed by Emerging Energies.
The $250 million project, the Highland Wind Farm, has been on the drawing board for several years and was initially rejected by the state Public Service Commission. The commission later reconsidered and gave the project the go-ahead last fall. Continue...


 

Father-son duo’s civic roots planted deep in Cape Vincent

CAPE VINCENT — Son and father Paul F. and Darrel J. Aubertine share a lot in common.
Paul, 31, launched his political career this month by attending his first board meeting as the lone Democratic member of the Cape Vincent Town Council. Darrel, a proud parent seated in the audience during the Jan. 16 meeting with his wife, Margaret S.    Continue...

Friday, January 24, 2014

Transcript for the 12/09/13 BP wind project procedural status conference in Cape Vincent, NY

Re: Case 12-F-0410- Cape Vincent Wind Power, LLC - Article 10 Application to the 
NYS Siting Board to Construct a Generating Facility - Procedural Status 
Conference – 12/9/2013. 

Link here to read document no downloading required

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Outrageous !!! Iberdrola ignores two to one referendum vote against Danbury New Hampshire wind project.

Danbury  New Hampshire.
Results of a referendum vote taken last month showed 249 residents opposed to Iberdrola's proposed project and 116 residents in favor it.
Selectmen in Alexandria officially adopted their residents' stance against the project Tuesday night.
Paul Copleman, communication manager for Iberdrola Renewables was quoted as saying  "We appreciate the efforts of Danbury's town leaders to solicit the views of local voters, but don't think the low level of responses provides an accurate reflection of local sentiment,"   Iberdrola Renewables, is proposing to build a 75.9-megawatt wind farm with 23 500-foot turbines in view of Cardigan Mountain and Newfound Lake. Continue...

Friday, January 10, 2014

Judge: Hounsfield liable for $160K legal bill over Galloo Island Wind Farm development

SACKETS HARBOR — A state Supreme Court judge has ruled the town of Hounsfield is responsible for a Watertown law firm’s $160,615 bill for services rendered related to the Galloo Island Wind Farm development.
Judge James P. McClusky granted summary judgment on behalf of Schwerzmann & Wise PC, which had sued the town in January 2013 claiming it was never paid for work done between December 2009 and July 2012. Continue...

MacSherry appointed deputy supervisor in Cape Vincent

CAPE VINCENT — Town Supervisor Urban C. Hirschey convened an organizational board meeting Wednesday to appoint Richard H. MacSherry as deputy supervisor. Continue...

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Downed trees from across Jefferson County could be heading to biomass plant

FORT DRUM — Fallen tree limbs and other debris from recent storms across the north country may get new life as fuel at ReEnergy Holdings LLC’s Black River biomass facility on post.
The company is in discussions with the city of Watertown to pick up its debris, and a meeting will be held next week for the company to talk with highway superintendents across Jefferson County. The company also planned to reach out to St. Lawrence County municipalities to discuss collecting their debris. Continue...

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Words Mean Things

  Last spring I did a post titled COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE OF WIND IN LITTLE APPALACHIA, it was about an outreach specialist Marion Trieste (Trieste Associates), she was hired by British Petroleum in 2008, to do "outreach work” for their proposed Cape Vincent wind complex.

The focus of this post was a webinar that highlighted the methods used by Trieste to facilitate a community’s acceptance of wind.

 Among other things in this webinar, Trieste described rural New York as little Appalachia.

 What exactly did Trieste mean by Little Appalachia?
Was she drawing on the typical stereotypes associated with Appalachia?


Was she saying that the people living in rural New York are naive, inbred, illiterate, toothless hicks in bib overalls, swilling moonshine from jugs hanging from their belts?

 Was she painting Cape Vincent with the same stereotypes used to entertain people? 

Things like the Beverly Hillbillies, Hee Haw, the Dukes of Hazard and Deliverance?

Or was Trieste referring to the economic hardships in Appalachia, created by companies much like BP, that exploit the natural resources for a profit, exacted at the expense of the people, and the environment.


Friday, January 3, 2014

No property assessment reduction for Wolfe Island couple

A Wolfe Island couple learned late in 2013 that a re-evaluation of their cottage property, based in part on their proximity to wind turbines, would not result in an assessment reduction.
It was a last ray of hope for Ed and Gail Kenney, who had also unsuccessfully challenged the property value of their home before a Municipal Property Assessment Corporation tribunal, claiming it had been devalued since the construction of the 86-turbine project on the island.
The couple have not been alone in their efforts. Continue...

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Editorial: Balancing energy needs and raptor safety is worth a better effort

The Obama administration has proposed new rules that would allow the operators of the wind farms to apply for 30-year permits allowing them leeway in the number of migratory birds they kill, so long as the operator has a plan in place to help mitigate the danger. Environmental groups worry such permits would be akin to a blank check for operators to kill species such as bald eagles.
Continue...

Wind power generation may make the power grid more fragile

According to research published online in IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.  Researchers from North Carolina State University and Johns Hopkins University found that increasing wind power generation makes the power grid more susceptible to disruptions.    Continue...

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

The Dark Side of Wind power

LIVERMORE -- They're touted as the future of energy production -- clean, efficient and renewable. But there's a dark side to wind turbines for local wildlife -- towers and spinning blades kill thousands of birds and bats on the Altamont Pass east of Livermore each year.
While the hazards there aren't unique, recent studies suggest up to twice as many birds are killed every year at the Altamont Wind Resource Area (AWRA) than previously indicated by official estimates. Continue...